To think the my local council wastes money?

[LuisSuarezTeeth]

Contacted by a Chimney Sweep company who wanted to service my solid fuel heating system - i.e. sweep the chimney.

It was blocked up before I moved in, they were doing it when I came to look at the place 3 years ago! So I explained this to the company, who explained apologetically that they still needed to come and see this to verify it. The council still pay for this and there are many other council properties that this company have to go to, in order to do NOTHING.

I checked this with the council as well - the Repairs department said it was necessary because the chimney had not been swept for 3 years! Well duh! You lot blocked it off!

The council have a record of this. It's on my inventory. What a waste of time and resources, when local councils have their funding cut!

[abbieanders]

What if you had decided to unblock it?

[LuisSuarezTeeth]

I wouldn't be allowed to, it's in the terms of the tenancy.

[abbieanders]

Yeah...that's why they're checking. Not everyone will comply with all their terms and it'll be an insurance issue.

[LuisSuarezTeeth]

Blimey. Expensive way to do it. Why not send one of their own bods out?

[LuisSuarezTeeth]

Assume everyone is lying

[evilcherub]

They need to pretend to spend money on important stuff so they get next years grant.

[LuisSuarezTeeth]

Really? That sucks. It's all backwards :(

[Sighing]

Councils do loads of stuff like this. It's deeply ingrained. Process for the sake of it. I had a few years working for a Council. I was actually closed down on a suggestion for saving time (and money) because that would mean the team being smaller (less power for the manager).
I took voluntary redundancy, after reducing my hours to part-time (same workload). The team could easily have been smaller.